Family Album
by m.michele
Summary: Short one-shot character portraits/epilogues
1. Chapter 1: DePinna

_Hello! Let me explain a few things, before we get started...2 years ago, my school performed the play You Can't Take It With You, and it was a spectacular show. I myself was in it...and I wrote these stories not long after the show ended, out of nostalgia for the cast, the chemistry, and the show itself. Each of these stories are one-shots, providing a bit of backstory on the characters involved, and giving a bit of an epilogue; or rather, what I imagine what might have happened after the curtains closed, but at the same time, they do poke fun at the characters a bit; the play itself is so funny, sometimes it's hard to take something like this seriously. Also, it is based on specific people - cast I worked with- but I also feel that it's generally vague enough that you can read it and the details aren't too overbearing. For example, in this chapter I state that Penny had "honey brown curls", and while that's never actually stated in the script, I think that it's just a detail for detail's sake; I hope it's alright that I took that liberty. Thanks for reading this little bit, and enjoy the story! _

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DePinna. That's all he'd ever been called. Did they even know his first name? Not likely. But it didn't really bother him.

This morning, like most mornings, he shook himself from a sound sleep. He washed, shaved, dressed, and went downstairs to grab a bite to eat. Then he headed down to the basement. Paul was surely already there. The duo spent the rest of the day in a flower garden of fire, smoke, and gunpowder. Every once in a while, they would come up to show off something they had made.

Things were great in the Sycamore household. But best-or perhaps, worst-of all was that no one asked where he came from, or really, why he was even there. But every quiet day, once in a blue moon, it weighed upon his mind.

Flashback to Italy, where he had a first name, and it was known by all. Guillermo DePinna, the up and coming young actor. He'd be world famous in a year or two; he was the heartthrob of all the young girls. And then, before it had seemed it had really had a chance to begin, it was over.

A boy DePinna had grown up knowing had become a big mob leader in America, and he had forced DePinna into hiding. He was then brought to America, apparently to settle some long forgotten debt between himself and the Boss-apparently an issue of lunch money, or some such thing.

Once in America, debt free, he decided to hide out for a while, just to be sure he was safe. During this period in his life, he made friends. His best friend was Paul Sycamore, who was interested in assembling car parts at the time. There was also Paul's girlfriend, Penny Vanderhof. DePinna had come to love her. She was rather petite with pretty, honey brown curls. Penny was funny, eccentric, and absolutely adorable in every aspect. How surprised had DePinna been when Penny and Paul got married, and invited him to come and live with them in Penny's father's house! He had refused...for five long years, he refused, until bad fortune caused him to lose his home. And then he accepted.

He moved in with a still-mourning Sycamore-Vanderhof family. Their good friend, a milkman, had passed away. But in time, they and DePinna were cheered and charmed by Penny and Paul's daughters, Alice May who was around five when DePinna joined them, and baby Essie Irene.

As the girls grew up, everyone else grew older. Paul and DePinna changed hobbies, finally settling on fireworks, and Penny also found her own outlets. She even went through an artist phase, where she painted DePinna. Essie got married fairly young to one Ed Carmichael-not exactly her high school sweetheart, but something close.

DePinna longed for the same love he saw blossoming around him.

And then, on the day of Alice's engagement to Tony Kirby, Jr., **she** waltzed into his life. Olga Katrina Romanov, The Grand Duchess. But she was not as regal as she once was-now she was a waitress. For him, it had been love at first sight.

After a few weeks of shy flirting, they fell into a happy courtship. DePinna would visit at her new job at Schraft's (She had been promoted!) and she in turn would come and make fabulous blintzes for the family when she had time.

One night, he had worked around the clock to fix a fireworks display for her. Composed of hearts and stars, it would be better than Paul and Penny at "The Last Days of Pompeii".

And it was exactly that.

As they sat under the stars on the lone hill behind the house, DePinna sat off the first fiery display. And under the shining red hearts and shimmering explosions, DePinna and The Grand Duchess shared their first kiss.

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_Thank you again for reading! Reviews would be greatly appreciated!_


	2. Chapter 2: The Grand Duchess

_Hello again! Welcome back friends, and hello new readers! For those of you who didn't catch my first little exposition block, let me explain a few things...2 years ago, my school performed the play __You Can't Take It With You__, and it was a spectacular show. I myself was in it...and I wrote these stories not long after the show ended, out of nostalgia for the cast, the chemistry, and the show itself. Each of these stories are one-shots, providing a bit of backstory on the characters involved, and giving a bit of an epilogue; or rather, what I imagine what might have happened after the curtains closed, but at the same time, they do poke fun at the characters a bit; the play itself is so funny, sometimes it's hard to take something like this seriously. Also, it is based on specific people - cast I worked with- but I also feel that it's generally vague enough that you can read it and the details aren't too overbearing. For example, in this chapter I took some liberties with the known history of the last "royal" family of Russia, and while they aren't specifically stated in the script or even historically accurate, I did try my best to keep it as realistic as possible, and just plain fun; I hope it's alright that I took that liberty. Thanks for reading this little bit, and enjoy the story!_

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She wouldn't lie: He had repulsed her . In her eyes, he was pathetic, following her around like a puppy, drooling over her. The second she walked in the door!

But he'd grown on her, the silly Italian.

God knew her family had been through enough. She remembered her girlhood: wearing gowns trimmed with white pearls; Sapphires hanging from her ears; Maids waiting to fulfill her every girlish whim. She had never had to do anything before; Before her cousin had been forced to abdicate his position as Tsar, that is. Everything had collapsed for her family then. It had especially been an emotional strain on the Tsarina, Anastasia. Olga wasn't even sure whether she was dead or alive, anymore. Anastasia, she knew for sure, had lingered on long enough to help her brother, the prince, the Tsarovitch, escape to America, but she herself had disappeared. Alexis, the prince, had turned into a selfish, self-preserving...well...prince. He had even stopped speaking to Olga because she had "degraded herself to common work".

Well, what a nice change it had been to go to the Sycamore family's house for dinner that night, where everyone treated her like the royalty she was. She hadn't expected to go to the house to make a meal, but seeing the sad faces all around her when she arrived reminded her of her own hardships, and she felt the overwhelming desire to help in any way she could.

The dancing one, Essie, had nearly caused several accidents in the kitchen trying to pirouette, or some such nonsense, but major incidents had been avoided. And all the shouting coming from the living room was distracting, but had eventually been drowned out by the bubbly sound of the water boiling on the stove.

Olga was snapped out of her reverie by a sharp tapping on the glass door from outside. Ah, her shift was over! She slipped out of the slightly faded purple apron that was her uniform, and hung it up over the hook with her name. There he was: DePinna, her escort to lunch, and then to the Sycamore family home for the rest of the day.

As he opened the door for her, she linked her arm with him, and laid her head on his shoulder. And somehow, she felt as if things were more alright than they had ever been in Russia, even without all the maids and jewelry.

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_Thanks again for joining us! Reviews are always appreciated! This chapter was kind of a flipside companion to the first chapter, so maybe it's a bit redundant, but meh...^^ Next chapter: The Vanderhof Family_


	3. Chapter 3: The Vanderhofs

_Hello! Let me explain a few things, before we get started...2 years ago, my school performed the play __You Can't Take It With You__, and it was a spectacular show. I myself was in it...and I wrote these stories not long after the show ended, out of nostalgia for the cast, the chemistry, and the show itself. Each of these stories are one-shots, providing a bit of backstory on the characters involved, and giving a bit of an epilogue; or rather, what I imagine what might have happened after the curtains closed, but at the same time, they do poke fun at the characters a bit; the play itself is so funny, sometimes it's hard to take something like this seriously. Also, it is based on specific people - cast I worked with- but I also feel that it's generally vague enough that you can read it and the details aren't too overbearing. For example, in this chapter I added quite a bit that's never mentioned anywhere in the script, but I felt that it was just there...you know? ; I hope it's alright that I took that liberty. Thanks for reading this little bit, and enjoy the story!_

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"Grandpa!"

Martin Vanderhof sat a bit straighter in his chair. It was Alice. As she went over wedding plans with him, he nodded and offered the best advice he could think of: do what she wanted. She smiled, and tossed her long brown curls. He smiled, because she was happy, and also because he found it amazing how much she could resemble her grandmother, especially when they had never met.

Cordelia Vanderhof had also longed for something of a "normal" family...whatever that meant. On at least one occasion, she, like Alice, had nearly walked out on him. But, also like Alice, she came to her senses and came home. After about two years of marriage, Cordelia had died in childbirth with their daughter, Penny. Penelope Gertrude, her middle name taken from Cordelia's mother's name. Just as Cordy had wished.

Martin had raised Penny as best he knew how, and encouraged her to do her best in everything. He remembered her graduation from high school, her marriage to Paul, when she had announced her pregnancies-First with Alice, then with Essie.

At first, he had been rather concerned. After all, he had lost his dearest love to childbirth. He didn't want to lose all that was left of her. Btu miracle of miracles, Penny had survived both pregnancies and produced basically a carbon-copy of Cordelia-dear Alice.

As Essie pranced around the room, Grandpa closed his eyes and leaned back in the recliner. How lovely it wast o be here with family and friends. He thought about the last commencement he had attended. Whether Essie and Ed had tried for a child yet. What Alice and Tony might do after their marriage; both long and short term.

Before he knew it, he had drifted off to sleep.

Alice walked into the room and saw him dozing. She pulled a ratty old brown blanket over his body and kissed his forehead.

Granpa woke up a few hours later. Tony was here. Mr. Kirby, Sr. had invited Grandpa to a round of golf, and seeing as how Grandpa had never really played, Tony had come to help him choose proper golf attire.

As they sorted through Grandpa's messy closet, and mounds and mounds of sweaters, Grandpa got a good look at Tony as he fell into another cardboard box. One that just happened to be keeping a new snake, one to replace Grandpa's oldest snake, Oscar. Oscar, amazingly enough, had been around since the time Essie was born. Grandpa was rather fond of him, and though he was sad Oscar was nearing the end of his life, he looked forward to having the new snake-Frank-lift his spirits.

Grandpa watched Tony closely to see what his reaction to the snake would be. He lifted it, nervously at first, but upon growing used to it, he laughed. Grandpa was glad he hadn't screamed. It showed that Kirby, Jr. was open to new things, something important in this family. His parents, while on what Grandpa considered "the wrong path", weren't too far gone as to be past saving, either.

Yes, Tony was a good apple, one Grandpa was glad to "lose" his granddaughter to. Well, not glad, but...well, he didn't mind as much.

They placed Frank back into his cardboard home and headed downstairs, sweater vest and khaki pants in tow. It would be a good match.

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_Thanks again for reading! Please review! A special shout out to writingtiger and WindowChild for their kind words. ^^ 3 Next time: The Sycamores_


	4. Chapter 4: The Sycamores

_Hello! Let me explain a few things, before we get started...2 years ago, my school performed the play You Can't Take It With You, and it was a spectacular show. I myself was in it...and I wrote these stories not long after the show ended, out of nostalgia for the cast, the chemistry, and the show itself. Each of these stories are one-shots, providing a bit of backstory on the characters involved, and giving a bit of an epilogue; or rather, what I imagine what might have happened after the curtains closed, but at the same time, they do poke fun at the characters a bit; the play itself is so funny, sometimes it's hard to take something like this seriously. Also, it is based on specific people - cast I worked with- but I also feel that it's generally vague enough that you can read it and the details aren't too overbearing. For example, in this chapter I played up quite a bit the flirtatious relationship between Paul and Penny. Thanks for reading this little bit, and enjoy the story!_

"Oooh, Paul!"

A giggle.

"Paul, stop it!"

More giggles as Paul replied, "Oh, come on, Penny; Grandpa's at a commencement, Rheba and Donald have gone to some sermon or another, Essie and Ed have gone to the movies, and Alice and Tony are out with DePinna and the Duchess. We have the whole house to ourselves..."The intonation in his voice reeked of suggestion.

"Paul, no! I want to finish this page! Put that ship DOWN!"

Sadly, Paul sighed. Looks like tonight he wouldn't be able to entice Penny into helping him build another model boat. Oh well. He began to tinker with it himself, out of habit.

A few minutes later, Penny spoke. "Do you think Ed and Essie have tried to have a baby yet?" "I dunno, Penny. You know how it is: most nights, this time of year, I'm downstairs working on orders..."

"Well, I do hope so. It's been so long since we've heard the pitter-patter of tiny feet on these floors!"

"Well, Penny, you may just have to wait. It's what Essie and Ed want, not you. You do have a tendency to put what you want ahead of what others want, even if it isn't really your decision. You need to learn patience."

Subdued, she began to type again. "Oh, Paul. You know how I am. I don't mean to be selfish, it's just..."

Paul pulled her into a tight hug. "There, there, Penny. I know, I know..." A quick silence, and then he said softly, "So, what're you working on now?" 

"Still Poison Gas, but I thought that- that maybe just now I might like to build a model ship."

They beamed at each other as they assembled the boat.

_Thank you for reading! Please review! Special thanks go to GracieFacie! I know this is a rather short chapter, even for me...but one of my favorites. the next one is my longest, though, so...Stay tuned for ch. 5: The Carmichaels_


	5. Chapter 5: The Carmichaels

You Can't Take It With You-The Carmichaels

"1-2-3 and 1-2-3 and POINT YOUR TOES!"

Essie stumbled and neatly fell, but Mr. Kolenkhov quickly grabbed her arm before she hit the ground. While she was adjusting her glasses, she missed him rubbing his eyes and shaking his head in frustration.

"My Pavlowa, you will forgive me, but I must be leaving. My doctor is going to be checking my blood pressure tomorrow, and I have been instructed to avoid high-stress situations until then..." He looked at Essie again and shuddered.

"Goodbye, Mr. Kolenkhov!" Penny and Essie called in synch.

Quietly, Essie made her way up the stairs and into her and Ed's room. Still in her frilly dancing dress, she climbed into the bed, pulling an afghan over her head. She inhaled the distinct, comforting scent of candies, rosin, and Ed. Soon, she felt herself drifting off...

..................

She awoke with a start. "Ed!" she exclaimed with a sharp intake of breath. "When did you get home?"

Ed sat down next to Essie. He had gently pulled her head into his lap, and was lovingly stroking her curly head. He looked down at her and replied, "About fifteen minutes ago. Well, how are you today? Feeling better?"  
"Not really, but it's just a cold. It'll be gone soon." She smiled and playfully rubbed her nose on his arm.

"Essie!" he cried, exasperatedly. She laughed, and jumped on him, wiping her nose on his shoulders, chest, socks, wherever she could.

Ed wiggled away from her, and grabbed his hat from the top of their dresser and threw it at her. It landed lopsidedly on her head. She sat there with a confused expression on her face and blinked, glasses askew again.

Ed laughed and leaned back, back propped up against the headboard of the bed, and held his arms out. Essie curled up comfortably i them.

Essie, while always a bit odd, had been one of the most good-looking girls at their small public high school. But she didn't really have any friends; just a more popular girl named Jane Applesby. Ed and Jane began to date when he first moved to New York. Eventually, though, he grew tired of Jane's constant complaining and badmouthing of her friends, especially Essie Sycamore.

"Just look at her!" Jane would exclaim. "She's so short!" or "She's so thin!" Also commonly heard was "She's always making those stupid candies with the even stupider names, like 'Magical Star Crunchies' or 'Pink Unicorn Delights'...And she's so pathetic! Every time we're together around her, she looks all depressed. It's obvious she likes you...Like she's supposed to get any sympathy from me! "

One time, after a fight, Ed broke up with Jane and planned to ask Essie to be his girl in order to get back at Jane. But when he asked Essie to the school social, she said no. That had frustrated him; now he was determined to have her. He pursued her doggedly throughout his teen years, only to realize, after three years of obsession, he really cared for her-really! He supposed it showed, because finally, one day Essie said yes.

And so their Senior Prom was their first date. The second one was their wedding day.

The two continued to sit there on the bed, contentedly together for a few more minutes before Essie murmured softly, "Ed?"

"Mmmm?" he mumbled in reply.

"Let's keep it a secret."

"What? The nose thing? But why does it even matter...?"  
She giggled softly again, and then kind of rolled onto his lap, with a leg on either side of him. She then leaned forward and kissed him softly. "Nevermind, I'll tell you later"

...............

That night, after dinner, Ed and Essie were in their room. Ed seemed to be suffering from severe shock, although he shouldn't have been surprised.

"You're pregnant?!"

"Yes, of course I am. You remember the night we came home from that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie-"(He did, scowling at the thought of his wife flirting with the handsome Kirby boy) "-And the night after that, and the one after that..." She winked.

"And you want to keep it a secret?"

"Only for a little while. I want to surprise everyone!"  
He sighed. Like it'd really be a surprise...Everyone knew what they'd been doing. But he looked at her as she fluffed her carefully crafted curls and peeked at him through the mirror, looking over the tops of her glasses.

"You aren't going to tell anyone, are you, Ed?" She looked somewhere between stern and pleading. He couldn't fight that. But before he could promise that he wouldn't, she jumped in and answered smugly for him. "No, of course you aren't."

She was absolutely infuriating, but he loved her just the same.

"Ed, should we start thinking about names?"

"We don't even know if it's a boy or a girl yet!"

"Well, we can think of BOTH types of names: Boy and Girl!"

He kissed the back of her head. Oh, boy......


End file.
